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Hundreds of dollars donated to Arizona creamery shop to serve firefighters

Hundreds of dollars donated to Arizona creamery shop to serve firefighters
Posted at 3:50 PM, Jun 29, 2021
and last updated 2021-06-29 22:25:57-04

PAYSON, AZ — A creamery shop in Payson is providing sweet treats to wildland firefighters and first responders thanks to donations from community members.

The "first responder" gift card allows firefighters, and other first responders to shop at the Danzeisen Dairy Payson Store for their classic milkshakes or cold brews.

“The firefighters have been so grateful for everything towards us, and we're trying to push it directly back, and say 'Hey, this is not us, we’re just here, it’s the community coming around and just being so thankful you’re protecting our neighbors,'” said Josh Oakley, store manager of the creamery.

At one point, the balance of the gift card was over $1,700.

A recent social media post said firefighters have been snapping for a milkshake.

“It’s been so awesome meeting all of these hard-working firefighters the past week! They have been coming in like crazy! There is currently over $1,300 on the gift card for the first responders and generous folks keep putting money on it every day! Send them all into us and we will keep taking care of them for you!”

Hundreds of dollars donated to Arizona creamery shop to serve firefighters

Along with milkshakes, the creamery sells cold brew coffee, juices, and different flavors of milk.

There are more than 500 firefighters in the Payson area helping battle the Backbone Fire near Strawberry and Pine.

As of Tuesday, the wildfire has grown to over 40,000 acres and is 64% contained.Strawberry and Hunt Ranch residents were allowed to return to their homesafter evacuation orders were moved to SET status over the weekend.

“We just try to give all the praise to our community, we’re like we’re just the middle man here, but it's been really really cool to be the middle man,” said Oakley.

There are no plans to stop the evergreen gift card.